What does the completed Land Register look like and how does that affect your firm?

In October 2024, the Economy and Fair Work Committee of the Scottish Parliament, who’s remit includes support for business, shared the news from the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland that in its “work towards Land Register completion […], our figure for total land mass coverage is now more than 95%.”

It sounds impressive, especially when you remember this ambitious project, which went live in 1979 as a consequence of the Land Registration (Scotland) Act 1979, is navigating an entire nation away from a complex property ownership recording system – the Sasine Register – that’s been in place since 1617.

Nonetheless, this figure, like all statistics, needs context. To reach this figure, Registers of Scotland (ROS) calculated the total land mass coverage by adding

1. land in the Land Register (55%)
2. current casework in progress (6%)
3. data unlocked through Unlocking Sasines (34%)

When we take all this into consideration, the figures tell a more nuanced story and presents an interesting landscape for conveyancing professionals to navigate.

ROS is also using the Functional Completion approach, which focuses on properties most likely to transact, to pave a more efficient way of reporting the pathway to completing the register. Functional Completion of the Land Register (rather than actual completion) is seen by ROS as being delivered when most land and property that transacts regularly is on the Land Register. Properties unlikely to transact regularly include large estates and social housing. But, for now, land and properties that rarely or may never sell are excluded from the Functionally Complete calculations, which suggests the land in the Land Register could, in fact, be lower than 55%.

As conveyancers, in day-to-day practice, we should err more on the side of caution and recognise that only 55% of Scotland’s land mass is listed in the Land Register – still a notable achievement – and that we need to be alert to the challenge of at least 45% needing extra attention.

The reality is that while we move toward comprehensive land registration, many transactions will continue to involve unregistered land. This means firms still need expertise in sasine titles as well as Land Register proficiency. We are not yet in a position to pack away our sasine textbooks!

Managing the challenges

With 6% of Scotland’s property – that’s over 105,000 applications, some going back to 2018 – currently as open cases, there are a lot of people still waiting for the protection of the Keeper’s warranty, which they will only have when that registered title comes through.

ROS knows this is a challenge, so it created an expedited application process for pending transactions that meet certain criteria. This is keeping the industry moving in some cases, but not all applications meet the ROS criteria.

When properties move from the Sasine Register to the Land Register, there is no longer any theoretical need to check or rely on the Sasine Register. However there have been instances of standard securities not being discharged during first registration. The risk here is that once a property moves to the Land Register, the conveyancer’s normal practice is to check only the Legal Report over the Land Register title or pending applications, not the historical Sasine Register, so if a party in the first registration has failed to satisfy their obligation to discharge an outstanding security, then old securities might be lurking in the background, invisible to conveyancers working on later transactions.

As a business, you can take steps to avoid this. When dealing with first-registration properties, if the first registration is pending, you can request both a registered legal report and an unregistered legal report over the sasine title to build a complete picture. This dual-report approach means you can identify any historical securities that might otherwise be missed, ensuring cleaner titles and reducing risk for all parties involved. When presenting this option to clients, it’s worth explaining that the additional cost of an unregistered legal report is often justified by the security it provides and potential issues it can uncover.

Understanding Unlocked Sasines

The Scotlis Unlocked Sasines project (or indicative sasines) recognises the current low land register coverage and shows ROS’s commitment to try and introduce transparency of ownership from the, sometimes complex, sasine register – and it accounts for 34% of the quoted 95% Land Register completion. However, while the project “helps to indicate the likely ownership of areas not on the Land Register,” it does not provide absolute certainty of ownership. It can provide a useful bridge between the old and new systems and it certainly makes historical information more accessible. However, as a research tool, it is useful only as part of an overall toolkit for property investigation as you try to navigate those complex sasine search sheets. A final word of caution on indicative sasines, remember this is not a property register, it’s not a means to confirm ownership and boundaries with a 100% accuracy and it’s not a comprehensive source of all sasine titles.

How we can move closer to Land Register completion

While it continues the intimidating job of getting all of Scotland’s property listed in the Land Register, ROS is trying to support the nation’s conveyancers. And it welcomes all the support we in the industry can offer – with all of us working together, while recognising realistically the current coverage of the land register, we can get to completion much sooner. Its success will depend on maintaining a practical balance between embracing new efficiencies while retaining traditional expertise and authenticity and transparency in reporting against progress.

Understanding the current nuances helps you provide better service to clients while managing risk effectively. For now, maintaining capability in both registered and unregistered land remains key to successful conveyancing practice.

Sources

1. https://www.millar-bryce.com/news/hidden-consequences-of-backlog-of-ros-open-casework/
2. https://www.ros.gov.uk/performance/land-register-completion/land-mass-coverage-in-scotland
3. https://www.ros.gov.uk/performance/land-register-completion/unlocking-sasines
4. https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/efw-30-10-2024
5. https://www.ros.gov.uk/performance/land-register-completion/functional-completion
6. https://www.ros.gov.uk/performance/land-register-completion/unlocking-sasines